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LIFE IN BEARCAT (BEDFORD) FALLS

UC beat Pittsburgh 45-44 in the "unofficial" Big East title game to earn a trip to the Sugar Bowl.

Brian Kelly left Cincinnati to coach Notre Dame

Jeff Quinn was hired as UC's interim coach.

Butch Jones was hired from Central Michigan to coach Cincinnati (but won't officially take the reins 'til after the Sugar Bowl).

Turner Gill left the University of Buffalo and was named head coach at Kansas.

Former Bearcat quarterback Danny Barrett was named interim coach at Buffalo.

Jeff Quinn was hired as the University of Buffalo's new head coach, but will still coach the Bearcats in the Sugar Bowl.

Hmmm....

"At the end of the day,"
(as one guy wearing green ties now used to say) it's all about
dominoes and interchangeable parts. In this "silly season" (as
the politically savvy latest leprechaun has said) one move has caused
a related move, which has left UC and a lot of schools with great
questions about their bowl games.

Like George Bailey in
"It's A Wonderful Life", life is dependent on such things. (And,
if you haven't seen the movie, you're missing valuable reference
points.) If George (Jimmy Stewart) went off and saw the world like
he had planned, Bedford Falls would've been run down by "Ol' Man
Potter", he never would've been married with a family, and so on.
His every action led to another action, which pretty much is the way
all of this stuff works in my very non-scientific opinion.

What would've happened
without these coaching moves, we'll never know. But, we can look at
what DID happen recently....

When Mark Dantonio
declared he was leaving UC for Michigan State after the Connecticut
win in '06 (subsequently abandoning the Bearcats in their bowl game)
things looked bleak. But, after a short regime with Pat Narduzzi as
the interim (and by the way, it's all but a lead pipe cinch now that
if you're the interim, you're NOT getting the job in these
situations) Brian Kelly was hired away from Central Michigan.

At Central Michigan,
Jeff Quinn, Kelly's right-hand offensive man, then was named the
interim. Quinn led the Chippewas to a Motor City Bowl win, but also
found out that he WOULD NOT be the new coach. (Note: Quinn now has a
chance for an odd record, 2-0 as a head coach with both victories
being in bowl games!)

Butch Jones, wide
receivers coach for West Virginia under Rich Rodriguez, was hired at
Central Michigan. That then freed up Jeff Quinn to come to
Cincinnati where he teamed up with Brian Kelly to obliterate the
Bearcat offensive record book over the next three seasons.

In all of the
situations, the results were positive. Kelly and Quinn went 34-6
with UC's new spread offense. Butch Jones went 27-13 at Central
Michigan, which was actually considerably better than Kelly's 19-16
mark over three years in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan.

The questions you then
ask are: Would Mark Dantonio have had the same success at UC if he
had not left for Michigan State? Would Brian Kelly have gotten
interest from Notre Dame or any other schools if he were still at
Central Michigan? Would Jeff Quinn be up for a FBS job if he had
hung with Kelly at CMU? And, would Butch Jones have a major college
head coaching gig if the other events hadn't taken place?

I say no.

While Dantonio had
certainly upped the recruiting ante and was bringing in better
talent, his version of smashmouth, Big 10 football wasn't the answer
here. Yes, I believe he would've continued to win, but only
marginally above or around the 7-5 mark that he recorded twice in
three years. The sellouts would not have came because: a) it
wouldn't be the "bandwagon" thing to do; and b) with the Bengals
in town, people aren't going to file in on Saturdays to watch 10-3
football games. (There again, Mark Dantonio is an intricate piece of
the puzzle because without his success, there is no Brian Kelly.)

Had Kelly stayed at
Central Michigan, odds are he probably would've jumped for another
job. Research shows you that Iowa State and Michigan State came
knocking and based on his post-Grand Valley State behavior, roots and
longevity haven't been a priority for him in awhile. While I'm sure
CMU would've continued to win in the MAC, based on the assets
surrounding the Chippewas, I would never see them having the seasons
that the Miami's and Bowling Green's have had in recent years. Even
if you do so in the MAC (Ball State, Northern Illinois) it's tough to
sustain that level of success. So, without the Dantonio situation
at UC, Kelly probably jumps to another level, but never gets the
opportunity at UC.

Had Jeff Quinn stayed
at Central Michigan with Kelly, based on the above hypothesis, he
would still be at Central Michigan or maybe a C-USA school, biding
his time with Kelly. This is not knocking either Brian's or Jeff's
abilities, it's all about the surrounding support and talent. I
just don't think either could've walked into a better situation than
what they had here. I don't believe they would have won at this
level at either Iowa State or Michigan State. Following Kelly to
Cincinnati, gave Jeff Quinn two BCS bowl games to put on his resume.
Anywhere else, and he's still scraping for respect (which is does
deserve, because he's an excellent coach).

If Turner Gill stays
at Nebraska, and doesn't get an opportunity at Buffalo, he then has
no chance at landing back in the Big 12 at Kansas. Likewise, had he
been picked for the Auburn job last year, who knows how things
would've turned out. Being at Buffalo allowed him to resurrect a
MAC doormat and get himself in contention to return to the
"limelight". With his exit, Jeff Quinn then gets the
opportunity to be interviewed and eventually hired (based on his
rising stock in association with Brian Kelly).

As for former Bearcat
quarterback Danny Barrett, the "interim rule" applies.
"Interim" is a nice way of saying, "Dance with my date while I
go find a prettier one."

Fast forward to Butch
Jones. If Dantonio stays at UC and Kelly at CMU, Butch Jones then
probably still works for Rich Rodriguez (unless he takes a small
school offer). Rich Rodriguez left West Virginia for Michigan. So,
Jones would probably be an assistant at Michigan--which really isn't
a bad gig. However, if you've noticed Michigan's record thus far,
other colleges aren't beating the doors down for Rodriguez
assistants.

Again, it's not
making light of Butch Jones, he would've been my target too if I'm
Mike Thomas. It's just the surrounding components would not have
been there (in my opinion) had he followed Rodriguez to Michigan.
Or, had he stayed at West Virginia.

For Butch Jones to
coach UC, Mark Dantonio had to leave, Brian Kelly had to leave CMU
for UC, and Jones had to coach CMU and then wait for Kelly to find
the "pot of gold" in South Bend.

"At the end of the
day," we have Butch Jones with a pretty good job at UC. Brian
Kelly apparently has his "dream job" at Notre Dame. Mark
Dantonio tucks his girls to bed in green and white blankets at
Michigan State. Turner Gill's got a Big 12 chance at Kansas. And,
Jeff Quinn gets his first college head coaching job at Buffalo.

Three years ago,
only two of those guys were head coaches, so fate has dealt them all
a pretty fair hand I'd say. Just as the assistants at UC and
Central Michigan are all going to land on their feet somewhere.
Their "body of work" has been enhanced dramatically since 2006.

It's just tough to
understand or predict how a certain "turn of events" will work.
As the wise say, "the only thing certain in life is change". For
some of us, change has been not so good (at least for now). For
others, change is unexpected but results in a favorable outcome.

But, you absolutely
CAN'T predict it.

For example, what
would you say if I told you the following a year ago....

Notre Dame's coach
will have an undefeated year, yet not coach in a bowl game. The
University of Buffalo's head coach will lead an unbeaten team into
the Sugar Bowl. The coach at Central Michigan will leave that job
to take over the third-ranked team in the nation. And, UC would
return to a BCS bowl, have an undefeated year, come within one second
of the national title game and be coached by someone NOT named Kelly.